First ‘Pet Sematary’ Photo Reveals Remake’s Adorably Undead Kitty Cat

Tis the season for all sorts of spookiness, and in keeping with the holiday spirit, we have our very first sneak peek at the upcoming remake of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Or more specifically, we have our first look at Church — aka that darn creepy cat. Actually, he looks cuter than he did in the original film.

If you’re unfamiliar with Stephen King’s terrifying 1983 novel or the 1989 film adaptation of the same name: The story centers on Louis Creed, a doctor who moves with his wife and son to a small town in Maine. There, the family makes friends with neighbor Jud Crandall, who introduces them to the local pet cemetery — or “sematary,” as it’s misspelled on the sign.

That furry little friend in the above photo is Church, the Creed family cat who gets killed by a car. After Louis buries him in the pet cemetery, Church comes back… but he’s not quite the same, and that’s just the beginning of the Creeds’ nightmarish story.

King’s original novel was a haunting, horrific story of grief — one that the author was hesitant to publish. His wife Tabitha and his friend, fellow horror author (and occasional collaborator) Peter Straub both felt that Pet Sematary was a little too dark and upsetting. Thankfully, King had a change of heart when he needed to publish one more book to fulfill his contract with Doubleday.

The new film adaptation, which hits theaters in 2019, stars Jason Clarke as Louis, Amy Seimetz as his wife Rachel, and John Lithgow as Jud Crandall (a role iconically originated by Fred Gwynne).